Service evaluation and development

Evaluation is an essential part of quality improvement and, when done well, it can help solve problems, inform decision making and build knowledge (The Health Foundation)

How we can help

We can evaluate and review new or existing health and social care services, from a patient, public, staff, or stakeholder perspective. We can provide clarity around what is working well about current services and what is not, and deliver evidence-based recommendations for improvement and service development.

We can also provide broader analysis to contextualise and expand our findings and recommendations. For example, we might reference quality of care standards, national or regional developments in health and social care, or best practice and innovations in service provision.

Service evaluation and development youthwatch

How we work

We work with our clients to design bespoke evaluation projects that ask specific questions and deliver practical, effective solutions. For example, an evaluation may take place at the end of a pilot service or a public health programme to review the overall effect, or we might track the evolution of a project over a specific period of time to help shape a new or developing service.

When a project is complete, we provide a comprehensive and objective report, setting out our findings and recommendations.

What we do

We use a mixed method approach, gathering qualitative and quantitative data and insight, though a variety of remote, online and face to face techniques.

Quantitative data may be gathered using surveys, questionnaires, and structured one-to-one interviews. Organisational audit data can also be used, for example data on staff sickness days, number of outpatient attendances or appointment no shows. Qualitative data may be gathered through semi-structured or unstructured surveys, one-to-one interviews, focus groups and case studies. For longer evaluations, other creative techniques may be used including diary keeping, Vox Pop audio, video diaries, or photo journals.